


The Mysterious Disappearance of Sunset Curve

by wisdomofme



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Gen, I can't believe I just typed that tag, I'm refusing to put this as a crossover fic with the BU archive, but here we are, buzzfeed unsolved au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisdomofme/pseuds/wisdomofme
Summary: This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we cover the mysterious disappearance of Sunset Curve- an up and coming rock band in the 90’s that vanished overnight.ALTERNATIVELYThe Buzzfeed Unsolved AU that everyone has been thirsting after where Shane and Ryan discuss the mystery around the deaths and disappearance of Sunset Curve.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie & Willie, Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn & Julie Molina
Comments: 90
Kudos: 563
Collections: Finished111





	The Mysterious Disappearance of Sunset Curve

**Author's Note:**

> I've been blown away by the reception of this fic! You guys left so many wonderful messages and comments, it's really inspired me to keep writing.
> 
> Also [@reggiemolina](http://reggiemolina.tumblr.com) made an amazing [Buzzfeed Unsolved edit](https://reggiemolina.tumblr.com/post/631144422273400832/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-sunset-curve-by) based on this fic!! Absolutely in love ❤

Julie is absently aware that on nights when Flynn comes over to study and she finishes her homework before Julie does, she will, on occasion, go downstairs and watch some weird show that she and Carlos both like. Julie has never minded it before, has never been interested enough to really even find out what that show is, until the day that Flynn meets the boys.

She looks sceptical from the moment Julie reveals that the boys aren’t holograms but ghosts, and it takes a lot of convincing to even get her in the studio, but once she does the boys really speak for themselves. She jumps in her seat the moment the boys appear, a squeak leaving her mouth from the surprise. Julie can’t help but grin at Flynn’s momentary wide eyed expression, her jaw slack with shock. It’s fun to surprise her unflappable best friend every once and awhile. As expected though, Flynn recovers quickly, her eyes narrowing as they dart to each of the boys’ faces like she’s trying to see through them. But Julie can see her begin to forget whatever’s concerning her as she takes Julie’s hand and follows her around the room. By the second half of the song, whatever was troubling Flynn seems to have vanished from her mind as she dances alongside Julie.

It takes a few days for it to come back to Flynn, but once it does she wastes no time, bursting into the studio mid practice and yelling at the top of her lungs.

“You’re Sunset Curve!”

The boys trade glances, their eyes widening as they each realize what Flynn’s just said. Suddenly it’s a mad dash for the three of them to reach her, no concern for the instruments slung over their shoulders and Alex nearly knocks over his drum kit. 

Reggie reaches her first. “You know who we are?” Flynn doesn’t respond, instead walking straight through him in her march towards Julie. Reggie gasps, his hands going to his chest as he stumbles back. “That’s so rude!”

Julie snorts as she watches the three of them from her keyboard. Reggie goes to berate Flynn again as Luke follows behind her like that will let her see him, and Alex sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We stopped playing,” he says to Reggie. “She can’t see us if we’re not playing.”

“Julie,” Flynn hisses as she reaches her side, thrusting her phone towards her. Julie glimpses a blurry paused youtube video on the screen before Flynn’s fingers close back over the image. “They’re Sunset Curve.”

Julie lets out a chuckle. “I know Flynn-”

“From Buzzfeed Unsolved!”

The excited grins on the boys’ faces fade slowly to confused frowns. Reggie and Alex trade shrugs as Luke sidesteps around Flynn and leans down to Julie.

“Hey Julie,” he whispers. “What’s Buzzfeed Unsolved?”

Julie holds up a finger to his face. “Wait a minute.” Then she turns back to Flynn. “Buzzfeed Unsolved did an episode on Sunset Curve?”

“An episode?” Reggie repeats, excitement creeping back into his voice. “We were on tv?”

Flynn speaks over him, unaware as usual. “Of course! The Mysterious Disappearance of Sunset Curve.” Her hand arcs out in front of her as she says the title and three heads follow it, like dogs watching a tennis ball. Julie has to bite her cheek to stop herself from laughing. “It was one of their season three episodes.”

Julie straightens up from where she was hunched over the keyboard and scratches her head. “I thought they only did ghost stuff?”

A snort erupts from Luke as Reggie hums uncomfortably. “I mean,” Alex butts in, his voice pitchy as he corrects her. “We kinda are ‘ghost stuff’.”

Flynn rests her elbows against the keyboard and sighs, ever a fan of the melodramatic, and Julie just rolls her eyes. “They do all kinds of unsolved cases! Like how four members of an up and coming band vanish on the biggest night of their lives?”

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m pretty sure there isn’t much to solve about bad streetdogs,” Reggie says as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Wait, wait,” Alex speaks as soon as Reggie finishes. “What does she mean by four members?”

Julie repeats Alex’s question for Flynn and Flynn is quick to gasp in response. “You mean they don’t know?”

Julie sighs, finally switching off the keyboard as she realizes that practice was probably something they weren't going to get back to for a while. “Flynn, there’s obviously something you wanna say- just spit it out.”

Flynn claps her hands together, biting down on the squeal that was trying to slip past her lips. “Okay,” she says, bouncing up and down with barely restrained glee. “Where’s your laptop?”

> Ryan: This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we cover the mysterious disappearance of Sunset Curve- an up and coming rock band in the 90’s that vanished overnight.
> 
> Ryan: You look really excited about this one.
> 
> Shane: A rock band in the 90’s- that’s my jam.
> 
> Ryan: Please don’t say that, you’re not as cool as you think you are.
> 
> Shane: Aw, come on. Don’t fight the groove Ryan!
> 
> Ryan: Now you’re just mixing up your decades. Showing your age. Anyway- Let’s get into it.

The year was 1995, 5 PM on the 25th of July, three hours before Sunset Curve was due to perform to a sold out crowd at the Orpheum. The four members of Sunset Curve, Luke Patterson, Reginald “Reggie” Mason, Alex Healy and Bobby Redfern, arrive at the Orpheum ready for the biggest night of their lives.

> Shane: I mean, I assume this remained the biggest night of their lives, since you’re starting here.
> 
> Ryan: Yeah, never a good sign on Buzzfeed Unsolved.

The band spends the next half hour mingling with the staff before setting up for a sound check. Once they finished their sound check, two hours before they were due on stage, witnesses at the Orpheum say that three of the boys, Luke, Reggie and Alex, left the club while the final member, Bobby, remained at the Orpheum.

> Shane: Now, I’m not sure where this is going- but should I be sus about Bobby?
> 
> Ryan: I don’t think what he was doing was suspicious. Not for a 17 year old boy anyway.
> 
> Shane: … What was he doing?
> 
> Ryan: Hitting on a waitress.
> 
> Shane: Ahhh. Yeah. That checks out.

One hour passes and the three don’t return. Two hours pass and there’s nothing. Three hours and the show’s cancelled. The manager of the Orpheum isn’t contacted until _five hours later_ , at which time he learns that the three missing members of Sunset Curve are dead.

> Shane: Five hours later?! You know, I recall there being phones in 1995.
> 
> Ryan: Yeah, but not like mobiles. They were all big and chunky and cost like half a week’s wage to make a single call on.

And it’s not just the missing Sunset Curve members. A total of thirteen people died that night within five blocks of the Orpheum, all with the same cause of death.

> Shane: Now this is interesting.

From the police report, the three members of Sunset Curve were found in alleyway diner, choking with burns around their mouths. An ambulance was called and they were rushed to a nearby hospital but all three members died on the way. The autopsy determined that they had been choking on street dogs, a cheap and popular form of hotdogs at the time.

> Shane: … They died from hot dogs?
> 
> Ryan: Yep.
> 
> Shane: I gotta say, what a way to go.
> 
> Ryan: I agree, imagine that the last thing you ate was the cause of your death?
> 
> Shane: Mine would be jelly beans.

But testing found that it wasn't the hot dogs themselves that killed the three boys. The optional condiments for the hot dog had been contaminated with battery acid and caused burns to the mouth and oesophagus before being ingested in the stomach and burning through the stomach lining. The coroner declared most of this damage as occurring after death and ruled the cause of death as suffocation from the battery acid that managed to make its way into their lungs.

> Shane: I don’t think that jellybeans, or hot dogs for that matter, covered in battery acid would taste all that nice.
> 
> Ryan: No, I don’t think so either.

Their deaths, along with the other ten from that night, were deemed accidental and the streetdog vendor, Nicolas Roselli, was charged with ten years in prison for manslaughter. But the real mystery begins the next day with Bobby Redfern’s disappearance.

> Shane: Ah, Bobby. I think he’s my favourite member of this band.
> 
> Ryan: Why? Because he's still alive?
> 
> Shane: I just think he has panache.

Bobby Redfern returned to his home after his bandmates failed to show and their performance was cancelled. Staff at the Orpheum say that he appeared confused and angry but left the club in a taxi at roughly 9.15 PM, and was never seen again.

On the morning of the 26th, Liz and Tyler Redfern, Bobby’s parents, contacted the police claiming that he never arrived home. An extensive search was led by the police throughout L.A, but no trace of Bobby Redfern was ever found.

> Shane: That’s it? He just vanishes into thin air?!
> 
> Ryan: Yep.
> 
> Shane: I think I like him even more.

Now, let’s get into the theories. Theory 1. Bobby Redfern poisoned his bandmates.

> Shane: I thought you said he’s not sus!
> 
> Ryan: Look, honestly, I’m just reading out the theories here.
> 
> Shane: Wait, are you telling me that you don’t even believe your own theories?
> 
> Ryan: They’re not my theories, they’re pre-existing theories. I just-
> 
> Shane: For shame Ryan Bergara, for shame.
> 
> Ryan: (sigh)

This theory was circulated by a few small time magazines in 1996 on the anniversary of the event. They claimed that law enforcement had discovered new evidence in the case and that Bobby Redfern was on the run.

> Ryan: I think this is ridiculous.
> 
> Shane: I’m glad it’s not just me.
> 
> Ryan: Like, the logistics of it all- he was just a kid! He- He would’ve had to know that his friends were going to eat at a very specific hot dog vendor and would’ve had to somehow arrange for the vendor’s entire stock to be contaminated. He would’ve been responsible for the deaths of thirteen people.
> 
> Shane: I mean- teenagers.
> 
> Ryan: Yeah, but not like this.

Reportedly, this information came from inside sources, but no official announcements were ever made about the reopening of the case. The magazines in question were later accused of ‘sensationalization’ and were taken to court and sued by the Redfern family for defamation.

Which leads us to our second theory, one that is extremely popular with remaining fans of Sunset Curve.

> Shane: Why are you looking at me like that?
> 
> Ryan: I’m just trying to figure out how much of a Trevor Wilson fan you are.
> 
> Shane: What does this have to do with my boy Trev?
> 
> Ryan: …

A music forum back in 2005 received a post from a user named Sunset_Boys27. In this post Sunset_Boys27 revealed their theory that Bobby Redfern was not only still alive but had changed his name so he could no longer be traced back to his time in Sunset Curve. They then went on to state that this was because he stole several songs that had been written for the band by the members and wanted to avoid paying any compensation to the members’ families.

> Shane: That seems pretty shady.

Sunset_Boys27 then went on to claim that Bobby Redfern changed his name to Trevor Wilson-

> Shane: No!
> 
> Ryan: I’m sorry man.
> 
> Shane: Trevor would never do that! I mean, I’ve never met the man personally but-
> 
> Ryan: But what Shane?
> 
> Shane: But his music was just so good!
> 
> Ryan: Ah, well…

They claim that the evidence lies in Trevor Wilson’s music. Before performing at the Orpheum, prior to their deaths, Sunset Curve managed to produce a demo track of a few of their songs. Although none of the songs from the demo track appear in Trevor Wilson’s discography, Sunset_Boys27 points out that several of his earlier songs have a similar sound to Sunset Curve’s music.

> Ryan: So this song I’m going to play is Now or Never by Sunset Curve. The last song they ever played.
> 
> Shane: Spooky.
> 
> Shane: …
> 
> Shane: (sigh) Look, I can maybe hear what they’re on about but don’t all bands from the 90’s kinda sound the same?
> 
> Ryan: That is wildly offensive to so many artists.
> 
> Shane: Well, what if he was just a fan of their music? I don’t know why we’re jumping on Mr Wilson’s back like this?
> 
> Ryan: I’m just reading out the theory!

The post then concludes by mentioning how Trevor Wilson’s songs have decreased in quality over the past few years, blaming it on Trevor finally having to write his own music instead of stealing from his old bandmates.

> Shane: I don’t like this theory.
> 
> Ryan: I mean, the man did release a song titled ‘My Name is Luke’.
> 
> Shane: Why would someone guilty of song theft release a song with that title?
> 
> Ryan: Because his bandmates are dead and he’s overconfident.
> 
> Shane: This is absurd. He’s innocent.

And that brings us to our last and final theory. Sunset Curve was taken out by the mafia.

> Shane: Oh, now this one I like.

When the ambulance reached the hospital, one of the members, Luke Patterson, was quickly identified by the police as a missing person, a runaway, and a person of interest in an ongoing case.

Ricky Tanner, a detective who had been looking into the Los Angeles crime family, was the one to label Luke Patterson as a person of interest. Luke was noted to have met with two known members of the L.A. crime family on multiple occasions whilst under the cover of busking at the Venice Beach boardwalk, Louis "Louie" Caruso and Russell "Rusty" Massetta. Although this seems like it may be a coincidence, what isn’t is that Massetta was seen near the Orpheum on the night of the deaths.

> Shane: And you think he was there to kill a band of seventeen year olds.
> 
> Ryan: I think that the hotdogs were supposed to kill a band of seventeen year olds and that one of them didn’t eat them.

Massetta was seen getting into a car shortly after 9PM. He then loitered out the front of the Orpheum until Bobby Redfern got into his taxi and then followed after it. Detective Tanner also suspected Nicolas Roselli, the hotdog vendor, of being an associate to the mafia. He theorized that Roselli had been forced to take the fall for the deaths of the Sunset Curve members in order to prove his loyalty to the family.

> Ryan: The timing of all this seems like more than a coincidence.
> 
> Shane: I do agree, this all seems very fishy. Not to mention Bobby was never seen again- that’s like the mafia’s M.O.

Unfortunately for Detective Tanner, all of this evidence was too circumstantial to be useful, preventing him from pursuing the case and eventually forcing him to let it go cold. What connection Luke Patterson had with the mafia and what he did to cause them to take out him and his entire band is still unknown, but the series of coincidences around the night of July the 25th is too much to ignore.

With a string of theories so different from each other, the only thing we can be sure of is that on July 25th, 1995, the music industry lost a promising group of teenagers all in the course of one night. Was there something more to the deaths of Luke Patterson, Alex Healy and Reginald Mason? And what ever happened to the missing Bobby Redfern? 

Without any new evidence the mystery of the disappearance of Sunset Curve will remain... unsolved.

> Shane: Well, that went in so many ways I did not expect.
> 
> Ryan: Yeah, this was definitely a wild one. Which theory do you think was best?
> 
> Shane: If I was a member of an up and coming band and I died the night of the biggest show of my life, I feel like I would want it to be the mafia? Yeah, that’d be a cool enough way to go.
> 
> Ryan: You feel like the hotdogs weren’t spectacular enough on their own?
> 
> Shane: Oh, no way- that’d be so embarrassing, and for a seventeen year old? You’d die again, wouldn’t you?
> 
> Ryan: Sounds like a mystery for our supernatural segment.
> 
> Shane: Ha! Good one.

“Luke,” Julie whispers, her eyes still glued to the screen as the credits roll, the eerie background music slowly petering out. She feels like she’s frozen on the couch, Flynn sitting next to her and the laptop perched on the small table in front of them. “Were you involved with the mafia?”

Reggie and Alex both slowly turn their heads towards Luke from where the three of them stand behind the couch, twin expressions of dismay growing on their faces. Luke returns their gaze with one of disappointment. “No!” He says, his hands running over his face like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Reggie, I slept on _your_ couch most nights. Back me up here.”

“I mean, you did go to the boardwalk _a lot_.” Reggie shuffles as his voice reaches an uncomfortably high note.

Flynn nudges Julie with her shoulder, a wide grin growing on her face, unaware of the boys speaking over her. “So? Which one was it? Were they really taken out by the mafia? Or did their bandmate murder them?”

Julie lets an awkward laugh slip through her lips as the conversation between the boys begins to get heated. 

Alex is the first to yell. “Dude- did you get us killed by the mafia?” 

“No! They just liked my busking and, when I told them we were playing at the Orpheum, Rusty said he wanted to come check out the band-”

Reggie makes a noise like a cat being forced into a bath. “You were on a first name basis with the mob guy that _killed_ us?!”

“Um,” Julie hums as Flynn looks at her expectantly. She lets a half smile creep onto her face as she shrugs. “I’ll let you know if they ever figure it out.”

**Author's Note:**

> Uuugh- Ao3's fiddly HTML coding made this SO much harder than it should've been, but it's finally done. Written and edited to (probably rough) perfection. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, this idea was sparked by [this post](https://wisdomofme.tumblr.com/post/630906570853744640) on tumblr and I was relentlessly bullied into writing it by my sister. It was definitely something I'd never done before but I had lots of fun writing it XD
> 
> EDIT: It was pointed out to me that the boys die in the week leading up to the 29th if July so the date has been changed to the 25th of July for no reason other than it's my birthday... That's a grim thought. I just made my literal birth the first anniversary of their deaths...


End file.
